Galaxy S26 Ultra setup bug: phones stuck on 'webpage unavailable'

A software bug is leaving some Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra phones unable to get past the first-run setup screens, effectively turning them into very expensive paperweights until the problem is fixed. 9to5Google spotted the reports, which first surfaced on Samsung's own community forum and were picked up by SammyFans.

What goes wrong

During setup, the phone tries to load an account and policy page from Samsung's website. On affected devices that step fails with an error saying "the webpage is unavailable", and the setup wizard can't move on. Because the problem sits in the initial setup flow, most owners will only hit it after a factory reset or when setting the phone up again, not during everyday use.

What Samsung says

A Samsung representative replied on the Korean community forum and, according to the translation 9to5Google published, said the issue appears after the device's UI 9.0 update (One UI 9). The development team has confirmed it happens when an unstable system WebView is used on certain networks. WebView is the Android component apps use to show web pages inside their own screens, which is why a single faulty piece can block a setup page.

Samsung hasn't announced when a fix will arrive or whether other Galaxy S26 models are affected.

Should you reset your phone?

If your S26 Ultra works normally, the safest move is to avoid a factory reset until Samsung ships a fix, unless you really need one. If you must reset, make a full backup first and have mobile data ready. Our eSIM explainer covers how to get a mobile line onto the phone if you only use an eSIM.

The bug comes as Samsung is rolling One UI 9 out more widely, including the stable update for Galaxy S23 phones in Europe. If you're weighing up a newer Samsung, see our report on the Galaxy S26 FE.